Graham Norton Reveals He'd Like To Make Fewer Chat Shows After 20 Years In Host's Chair

Graham has been hosting for 20 years.

Graham Norton has revealed that, two decades after he debuted his first chat show, he’s ready to scale back his hosting duties.

Graham was being interviewed at the Listowel Writers’ Week Festival in Ireland at the weekend when he was asked about his future plans, and he reflected on his long tenure as the undoubted host with the most - first with Channel 4, and then with the BBC.

He said:

“If someone had told me 20 years ago, ‘You’ll be doing this job in 20 years’, I’d have thought they were crazy. But I do. Every week is a slightly different challenge, it’s enjoyable in a different way, and if it’s not, you’re doing another show next week, which will be totally different.

“But what I’d like to do is fewer shows, we do between 30 and 40 shows a year and I’d like to do fewer, but I don’t know quite how to do that.”

In the two decades he’s been a chat show host, Graham’s career has seen him become a presenter on Radio 2, take over the UK’s hosting duties for the Eurovision Song Contest, and recently, become a novelist, with his debut tome ‘Holding’ becoming a bestseller.

He also revealed that his wish list for dream guests had got much shorter, but there are a few key names he still has his eye on.

He said:

“The wish list is so short now. I used to say Madonna and then we got her, and then we had George Clooney.

“Now, it’d be nice to have some of the young royals on. They’re coming out and attaching their names to events and charities, so the might. They have to be very careful, they’re under such scrutiny, but hopefully, they’ll come on. Hopefully, we’ll get them one day.”